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Between the rise in location-based social networks, like Foursquare, and the mobile market’s
meteoric growth, a new marketing avenue has opened up. Location-based
marketing is a nascent frontier, and marketers are clamoring to take
advantage of it.
Already, about 30% of smartphone owners access social networks via
their mobile browser, and that figure will continue to grow, according
to an infographic by Microsoft Tag. So, if your marketing plans include location-based networks, below are five ways to get started.

1. Push Notification Integration

One of the big reasons people don’t use location-based apps like Foursquare or SCVNGR is simply because they forget. Integrating push notifications into a location-based app is a great and simple fix.
Marketers often use these notifications to highlight activity,
specials, announcements, and to further promote the app as well as the
business. Allowing users to alter these notifications is an important
way to give your audience some power. That ensures your messaging makes
it to their phone without being a burden.

2. Loyalty Programs

Giving rewards to loyal customers for continuing to check in via a
location-based networks is a great option. Arby’s marketing team did
this on Foursquare by offering special reserved seating to their
Foursquare mayors at 30 restaurants and 50% off on purchases. Ideas like
these drive competition and increase use, which leads to greater
exposure for the business being marketed on these networks.

3. Geofencing

Geofencing has been around for some time, but it’s increasingly
becoming incorporated in more location-based networks. For those who
aren’t familiar, geofencing is a virtual boundary set around a location,
like a store. One way marketers are using geofencing on location-based
networks is by sending messages to users who’ve opted in to a particular
service.
Lets use Starbucks as an example. If a person crosses a Starbucks
geofence, they will receive a message from their location-based app
highlighting an offer, coupon, or just a reminder to stop by. This is
similar to the idea of a push notification, except it’s only triggered
by a person who comes into a geofence around a specific location. This
messaging is more relevant to a user and more effective for a company.

4. Mixed Media

Apps like GetGlue
and Foursquare both give you the ability to check in and incorporate
other media. For instance, GetGlue allows a user to check in and share a
favorite book, song or TV show. Optimize your content and forge
partnerships with companies like GetGlue as a way to extend your reach
among users that are more likely to view your content if recommended by
their friends.

5. Better Content

As the king of the location-based space, Foursquare helps set the
tone for innovation in this industry. Recently at South by Southwest,
Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley spoke about the future of location-based
apps and how the company’s focus is shifting from checking in to other
features that their audience uses more and that will help the company
become more mainstream.
For instance, Foursquare’s “explore” feature is fairly new and allows
a user to discover food, nightlife, shops, and more based on broad
categories. It aggregates suggestions based on your checkin history as
well as information available on the network about a location. This is
why any content you add to Foursquare and similar sites should be
optimized.